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NEVER AGAIN WILL CIOS HAVE THE LUXURY OF NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS .
Maintaining security
Despite security always being at the forefront of a CIO ’ s mind , there is no doubt that the pandemic has changed the game on this as well . Managing remote systems – remote people – securely poses a whole new set of threats and challenges . At a base level , it also puts employees in a mindset of being outside of the office so prioritising security less . As more companies adopt a work-from-anywhere culture , leaders have had to anticipate the challenges that will arise from this expansion of the office perimeter and evolving cybersecurity landscape . The COVID-19 crisis has paved the way for cybercriminals to infiltrate often outdated home networks and unmanaged personal devices in this new remote work environment .
The threat to organisations is not going away , neither are employees – bringing the human element of cybersecurity with them . CIOs cannot ignore this and need to lead from the top .
They are in the best position to understand the big picture – the intricacies of the IT infrastructure and the business implications of something going wrong .
It is therefore vital that a CIO has their eye on key vulnerabilities , can maintain ongoing conversation with both employees and top-level management and ensure that employees are aware of how to remain secure no matter where they login .
Moving forward
This pandemic has presented CIOs with a broad scope of opportunity . Make sure you ’ re bought into decision-making early and not as an afterthought . If there ’ s one thing we ’ ve learned through the early stages of this , it ’ s that involving IT early leads to a very different outcome for the company . If you didn ’ t already have a seat at the table , claim one now . If you had a seat at the table , use these circumstances to increase the scope of your influence .
Use this spotlight to elevate your organisation and your priorities navigate whatever uncharted territory we enter into next . •
48 INTELLIGENTCIO www . intelligentcio . com